Upjohn Architecture

View from Boston Public Garden

In an area of Boston filled with cultural monuments and architectural splendor, Church of the Covenant is an architectural and artistic landmark. This Gothic Revival church was erected in 1865-67 by Central Congregational Church, one of the first churches to relocate in the newly filled-in land of Boston's Back Bay. The design of the church was by Richard M. Upjohn, the son and partner of the most famous Neo-Gothic architect in the country, Richard Upjohn. According to church records, the Upjohns "insisted that a high Gothic edifice be erected which no ordinary dwelling house would overtop." The most imposing architectural feature is the steeple. with its graceful spire rising higher than the Bunker Hill Monument.

The church and its steeple have had numerous admirers over the years. Writer Oliver Wendell Holmes thought that the steeple was perfection. In One Hundred Days in Europe he wrote: "We have one steeple in Boston that to my eyes seems absolutely perfect--that of the Central Church on the corner of Newbury and Berkeley Streets." Viewed from any direction, the graceful spire of this Neo-Gothic church continues to be an impressive Boston landmark and a favorite subject of Boston artists.